Ohio State-Michigan Rivalry Bring Back Echoes Of 1969 Classic Upset

The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry plays out again Saturday in Ann Arbor and the record shows that the two teams that hate each other have been playing since 1897 and that the Wolverines have a 62-51-6 lead in the all-time series.

Michigan goes into this game with a four-game winning streak in this series and that run comes on the heels of an eight-game streak by Ohio State. The Buckeyes actually won 15 of 16 in the series before Michigan turned things around in 2021 under former head coach Jim Harbaugh.

The Buckeyes are the defending national champions and the top-ranked team in college football. Head coach Ryan Day has the best team in the nation by what appears to be a significant margin. Ohio State has a level of dominance that is not usually seen in the sport. The Buckeyes (11-0, 8-0 in the Big Ten) were expected to be a good but not great team after 14 players from last year’s champions were drafted into the NFL.

They were projected to lose their season opener to Texas and finish behind Penn State in the Big Ten. Instead, Ohio State has been a juggernaut. Quarterback Julian Sayin has approached an 80 percent completion rate and the combination of Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate at wide receiver is the best in the nation. Both receivers are battling injuries, but they are expected to be first-round draft choices in the upcoming NFL draft.

The Buckeyes have scored 417 points this season for an average of 37.9 points per game, a figure that ranks 11th in the nation. They are even better on defense, as they have allowed just 7.6 points a game and rank 1st in that category.

They are 9.5-point favorites as they go to Ann Arbor to play their hated rival. Michigan (9-2, 7-1 in the Big Ten) has a team that is surging at the most important time of the year. The Wolverines have won five games in a row since losing at USC and last week’s 45-20 triumph at Maryland was formidable because the Wolverines pounded their rivals with a 228-71 advantage on the ground. Backup running back Bryson Kuzdzal gained 100 yards on 20 carries and scored 3 rushing touchdowns.

Talented freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will try to drive the Wolverines to the upset and he has thrown for 2,166 yards with a 9-5 touchdown to interception ratio. He has completed 171 of 275 passes and has also rushed for 322 yards and 5 touchdowns.

1969 battle fueled college football’s best rivalry

This game brings back memories of perhaps the most famous game in the history of the rivalry, the 1969 battle that saw Woody Hayes bring his best Ohio State team to Michigan to take on a first-year Michigan head coach named Bo Schembechler. Ohio State was considered to be the best team in the nation and a national championship seemed inevitable. Beating Michigan was considered just one more box to check off. The Wolverines did not have the same level of talent as the Buckeyes.

But the presence of Schembechler on the Michigan sidelines injected new energy into the Wolverines. The year before he arrived at Michigan, the Wolverines had absorbed a brutal 50-14 defeat at the hands of Ohio State. Hayes hated Michigan so much that he had his team attempt a two-point conversion after its last touchdown even though they had pummeled their rivals throughout the second half.

When asked why he went for two so late in the game – a move that was considered overkill and classless – the unapologetic Hayes explained his reasoning. “Because I could not go for three.”

He wanted to rub it in the faces of the Michigan players and coaches and that gesture lit a fuse that led to Schembechler’s hiring.

Nobody gave Schembechler’s team a chance to win that game, but the Wolverines came through with a 24-12 upset that sent Michigan to the Rose Bowl and drove Ohio State back to Columbus wondering what might have been.

Michigan is on the outside of the College Football Playoff structure looking in right now, as they are the No. 15 team in the nation. However, a win over the top-ranked team in the nation will punch their ticket and get them inside the top 12 and allow them to get into the playoff.

A loss to the Wolverines propelled the Buckeyes to last year’s championship but don’t expect the Buckeyes to let that serve as any kind of comfort. Day has suffered through four ugly losses to Michigan and he is not about to stomach another. Losing the game would probably not knock the Buckeyes out of a top-4 position in the CFP that would earn them a bye in the first round, but losing to Michigan once again is something that neither the team nor its passionate fans will consider.

“The Game” means nearly everything to both teams on an annual basis and this year’s version may mean even more than usual. Ohio State is powerful and dominant; Michigan is surging but somewhat undermanned. Expect Michigan’s best effort of the season to push the Buckeyes to the limit before Ohio State fires the last shot and earns the victory in one of the most memorable games in the history of college football’s best rivalry.